Slowly we all glanced around. I couldn't smell them, but I could definitely detect a disharmony in the forest.
"Why would they do this?" Kayla asked.
"Maybe they thought it was a Shifter," I responded.
"But why leave it?" she asked.
I didn't have an answer for that. Neither did Lucas.
"They could still be around," Kayla said.
Lucas shook his head. "The scent isn't strong enough."
"I feel like I still have so much to learn," Kayla said.
Lucas took her hand. "You're doing fine. This Bio-Chrome stuff—it's not what we usually have to worry about."
"What are we going to do about the wolf?" I asked. "We can't leave it like this, vulnerable to predators."
"I'll shift and stay with it," Lucas said. "Then I want to do some reconnaissance. See what else I can pick up. You go back to the jeep, drive into town, and I'll meet you at the Sly Fox tonight."
"I don't want to leave you alone," Kayla said.
"I'll be fine," Lucas assured her.
If I could have shifted, I'd have volunteered to stay behind. Instead, I got to my feet. I needed to leave so Lucas could shift. I also wanted them to have a couple of minutes alone to say goodbye. "I'll meet you back at the jeep. Be careful," I said.
Lucas grinned. "Will do."
I took a step and heard something crack beneath my hiking boot. Bending down, I picked up a broken microscope slide smeared with blood. "Okay, this is something we don't see in the forest every day."
I showed it to Lucas and Kayla.
"Huh," Lucas said. "They must be traveling with some kind of lab equipment so they can test blood. That's the reason they left the wolf. They were able to figure out it was pure wolf."
"Then they leave it behind, vulnerable." I couldn't stop the anger from resonating through me. It was one thing to come after Shifters, but now they were putting innocent wolves in danger.
The wolf began to slowly stir.
"He's not going to be happy when he's fully awake," Lucas said. "You need to go."
"Like I said, be careful," I reminded him before I headed back.
A couple of minutes later, Kayla joined me at the jeep, Lucas's clothes bundled in her arms.
"I can't believe I thought Mason was a nice guy," she said.
"I thought he was, too," I told her. "He's just gotten obsessed."
She got behind the wheel, while I climbed into the passenger seat. After tossing Lucas's clothes into the back, she started the jeep and we were off.
"They're getting closer," she said quietly. "I can sense it. Can't you?"
"Yeah." Even now, I felt as though they were watching.
"How can we make them leave us alone?" Kayla asked.
"I don't know if we can. I think Connor is right. If we destroy the lab, we may slow them down, but I don't think we'll stop them. I guess this isn't exactly how you'd planned to spend your summer vacation."
Kayla released a puff of laughter. "Hardly. I didn't even know Shifters existed when the summer started." She grew serious. "But I'd do anything to protect them now."
"You and me both."
"Do you think we'll win?" she asked.
I didn't answer. I'd met my lie quota for the day. The truth was they were encroaching on our forest, on our lives. I didn't think anything would stop them until they had one of us in their clutches.
NINE
When we got to Tarrant, I gave Kayla directions to my house. I stared at the two-story structure that shouted middle class. My mom had worked hard to buy us that house. I'd always known that I wasn't destined to be the leader of the pack or to even hook up with the leader. I was okay with that. I was okay with the life my mom had given me. Being the best Dark Guardian I could be was the only thing I'd ever wanted. Well, okay, finding my true mate had ranked right up there near the top, but that I couldn't control. Honing my skills as a Guardian—I could.
I grabbed my backpack. "Thanks for the ride."
"We'll be at the Sly Fox tonight," Kayla said. "Come by if you get a chance."
"Yeah, I will. I want to find out what Lucas discovered."
I got out of the jeep and started up the walk, slowing my steps as I heard Kayla drive away. Mom's car was in the driveway so I knew she was home. I saw a curtain at the window flutter. I wondered if Mom was expecting me to shift on my way through the door. We'd always gotten along, even though she thought I needed a life beyond what she saw as my obsession with being a Dark Guardian.
"It isn't everything," she'd often told me.
My usual response had been, "What planet are you from?"
The door didn't spring open. Mom didn't come running out to greet me. Obviously this wasn't going to be a Hallmark moment.
It wasn't until I'd closed the door behind me that Mom rushed forward and crushed me in her embrace. "Oh, baby, are you all right?"
I hated when she called me baby. So juvenile. I hadn't been a baby in a long time. Normally I would have wiggled out of her suffocating embrace, but right at that moment I needed to be held. I was once again fighting back tears. God, these emotions were such a nuisance.
Finally Mom pushed me back, her hands still clutching my shoulders as though she was considering giving me a shake. Her eyes, a green like leaves in spring, stared into mine. Her hair was a reddish brown that I'd always wished she'd passed on to me. I'd never seen a picture of my dad, but she'd told me that I'd taken my dark looks from him.
Mom's anxious eyes filled with sorrow. "You didn't shift."
And my damned eyes filled with tears. "How did you know?" I rasped.
She pulled me close and began to rock me. "Oh, baby, I'm so sorry."
In her voice I heard guilt. I broke free of her hold, crossed my arms over my chest, and glared at her. At least my curiosity had made the tears stop. "For what? What did you do, Mom?"
"Sit down," Mom said.
"I don't need to sit down. Just tell me."
Mom nodded, but she wouldn't meet my eyes. "During the summer I turned seventeen, I went to Europe. I met someone…in France. Antonio. I fell in love."